{"id":1365,"date":"2012-08-17T00:00:36","date_gmt":"2012-08-17T04:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1365"},"modified":"2012-08-16T21:11:55","modified_gmt":"2012-08-17T01:11:55","slug":"winter-chapter-19-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1365","title":{"rendered":"Winter – Chapter 19 – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Magairl\u00ed<\/span><\/em>,\u201d Neve spat, hands tightening around her reins as she swayed in the saddle, pain shooting up her leg.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Wind gusted cold out of the north, battering she and Cameron and making it that much harder for her to stay mounted.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron twisted to look at her, reining up.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNeve?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d she said, tugging her coat tighter and trying not to shiver.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBloody wind just keeps trying to knock me out of the saddle.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Her mount eased up next to Cameron\u2019s.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She tugged on the reins, urging the horse to halt.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It nickered and obeyed, snuffling and pawing at the ground.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron reached across the gap and touched her hand.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMaybe we should make camp.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cToo early.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We can make at least another dozen miles before a storm hits.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>His fingers tightened.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNeve.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m serious,\u201d she said, hating how much like a whine her voice sounded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She set her jaw, her other hand covering his.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTrust me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m all right.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIf we find a decent place to camp, we\u2019re going to,\u201d Cameron said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His eyes said that he didn\u2019t really believe that she was fine, but he was willing to let her win this time.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Neve smiled a tight smile and squeezed his hand.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thank you for that, at least.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI can agree to that.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Whatever\u2019s coming isn\u2019t going to be pleasant.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnother one out of the north,\u201d Cameron said, shaking his head and squinting up at the dark clouds to the north.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They boiled, twisting back on each other like water over a Bunsen burner.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd worse than all the ones before.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Neve tried not to shiver.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Shivering still hurt.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Her body was still black and blue from her close encounter with the firbolg\u2014and she was certain that\u2019s what she\u2019d had a close encounter with, based on Cameron\u2019s description of the thing\u2014and while parts had dulled to yellow and brown as they healed, it seemed she discovered new places she\u2019d hurt every time she moved.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Riding isn\u2019t smart, but we also don\u2019t have a choice if we want to make it to where we\u2019re going by the time the <\/em><\/span>real<\/span> storms come.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Their mounts had eaten up the miles these past weeks since her injury, and as they urged their horses into motion again, side by side, they got moving at as quick a clip as Neve could stand.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was slower than she would have liked, but almost too fast for her to take.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Every night she fell out of the saddle and into Cameron\u2019s arms, letting him cradle her like a child as he carried her to a waiting bedroll while he made camp.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She felt utterly useless but tried to make up for it on the road by being as little a burden as possible.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>And still, he worried.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He worries because he loves me.\u00a0 <\/span>I wouldn\u2019t be any different if our situations were reversed.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Of course, I think I\u2019m more stubborn than he is.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>She watched him for a few moments as they rode together.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He had the countenance of a hero of old, of the times before the years were truly measured, in the time of gods and legends.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m glad he loves me.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m glad it\u2019s he and I, not him and someone else.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She startled slightly, then winced as the sudden movement shot lances of pain up and down her spine.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHuh?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron smiled crookedly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re looking at me strange.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Just staring.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Your horse could\u2019ve ridden right off the edge of a cliff and I don\u2019t think you\u2019d have noticed.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOh.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She let out a brief, ragged laugh.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI was just thinking, that\u2019s all.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Not about anything important, really, just reflecting.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cReflecting, eh?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>On?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>They were riding almost close enough for their knees to touch, though Cameron was careful not to catch her bad leg between the horses.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It had happened once and she\u2019d blacked out from how much it\u2019d hurt.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat I got lucky,\u201d she said, her voice quiet, barely audible over the wind.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m not alone out here.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve got you, and you chose me.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019d do it all over again, too,\u201d he said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He smiled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Dirae<\/span><\/em> and all.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>They hadn\u2019t encountered anything like the <\/span>Dirae<\/span><\/em> or the firbolg since the ambush on the road.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>One morning by the lake they\u2019d been scared witless for a few moments by a hawk\u2019s cry before they\u2019d realized what it was.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It had sounded like some kind of harpy coming after them, though.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cEven with my brother?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>His grin broadened.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cEven with your crazy brother.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The more I think about it, the more I think that maybe he\u2019s not as bad as I keep wanting to think he is.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He loves you and his wife, and your family.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I can tell.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Even if I\u2019m not completely sold on everything he told me, enough of it made too much sense for me to not believe parts of it.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The smile faded and his eyes grew distant for a few moments.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat terrified me the most at first was how <\/span>old<\/span><\/em> he said you guys were.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Then I started to realize that it didn\u2019t really matter, since you were here now and had given up\u2026well, a lot.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>And you\u2019d done it willingly.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019d do it all over again,\u201d Neve said softly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOver and over again as long as I knew that it\u2019d lead me to this and you.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Whatever Teague might have thought, whatever his theory of the future was, it\u2019s wrong.\u00a0 <\/span>It wasn\u2019t supposed to be this man and Aoife.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was supposed to be Cameron and I.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron smiled at her, then shook his head slightly, nudging his horse off the main road.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCome on.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I think there\u2019s a good place to camp this way.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe haven\u2019t gone that much farther,\u201d Neve said.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo,\u201d he agreed.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll find a better place to weather an oncoming storm.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s have a look.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>If I\u2019m wrong, we\u2019ll still have time to press on.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMm.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She nudged her horse into following him.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhere do you think we are?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOntario, maybe,\u201d he said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe probably should have stuck to following along the rivers, but for some reason, due west felt better than cutting south.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He rolled his shoulders as if they were uncomfortably tight.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIf I\u2019m wrong, that\u2019s what we get for following my heart.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI trust it,\u201d Neve said softly, fervently.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I trust it so much it might kill us both.\u00a0 <\/span>But I trust it just the same.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMagairl\u00ed,\u201d Neve spat, hands tightening around her reins as she swayed in the saddle, pain shooting up her leg.\u00a0 Wind gusted cold out of the north, battering she and Cameron and making it that much harder for her to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,58,14,52,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-2","category-chapter-19","category-story","category-winter","category-year-one"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-m1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1366,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365\/revisions\/1366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}